Hugh Hammond Bennett Chapter
SWCS Mission Statement
The Soil and Water Conservation Society fosters the science and the art of soil, water and related natural resource management to achieve sustainability.
We promote and practice an ethic recognizing the interdependence of people and the environment.
Our Projects
Get to know us a little better by taking a look at the projects in which we have been involved.
Hugh Hammond Bennett Home Place
The Hugh Hammond Bennett family donated the home place and 19.2 acres to the NC Chapter of the SWCS (that's us!) on November 7, 1979 for the purpose of establishing a memorial to Hugh Hammond Bennett. Lead by William B. (Brack) Williams, the Chapter members worked to transform the jungle of vegetation into a park-like parcel. Since then, ten acres has been dedicated to producing timber and the rest is mowed and maintained. A covered bulletin board and two picnic tables were placed on site. The exhibit explains who Dr. Hugh Hammond Bennett was, how the conservation movement developed and describes today’s soil and water conservation practices.
The Bennett home site was used for the 50th anniversary celebration of the Soil Conservation Service. Since Hugh Hammond Bennett was the first Chief of the Soil Conservation Service and Anson County was part of Brown Creek Conservation District, the first soil conservation district in the nation, it was only fitting. Over 300 people attended. The US Postal Office set up a special Hugh Hammond Bennett Memorial station and issued post marks during the celebration.
Pictured here is the permanent sign erected near the road in front of the property in 1985.
(Information from “The First Fifty Years, North Carolina Chapter”)
North Carolina Envirothon
The Envirothon is North America’s largest high school environmental education competition. Reaching more than 500,000 students across North America annually, the Envirothon succeeds in its mission to develop knowledgeable, skilled, and dedicated citizens who are willing and prepared to work toward achieving a balance between the quality of life and the quality of the environment.
Dr. Bennett Home Place Brick
Long time Soil and Water Conservation Society (SWCS) and HHB Chapter member Jim Canterberry donated a brick from Dr. Hugh Hammond Bennett's home place in Anson County, North Carolina to SWCS.
President Mark Berkland made it through airport security to deliver the brick. HHB Chapter President Dale Threatt-Taylor presented the brick to SWCS Executive Director Jim Gulliford at the Board of Directors meeting in Des Moines, Iowa.